TSB Enabled by Design press release 01nov12
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The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is launching a £7 million additive manufacturing competition at the Enabled by Design-athon in London, aimed at enhancing product accessibility for people with disabilities. The two-day event will bring together designers and users to prototype products tailored to individual needs, while TSB plans to grant funds to overcome challenges in 3D printing technology. Prominent speakers and partners include ideo, sugru, and ravensbourne, emphasizing a commitment to inclusive design and innovation.
TSB Enabled by Design press release 01nov12
- 1. PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: 01/11/2012 ! ! ! Technology Strategy Board launches £7m fund at the Enabled by Design-athon, a two day ideas and product prototyping-fest for people with disabilities! ! The Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) will be launching its £7m additive manufacturing (3D Printing) competition at the Enabled by Design-athon event in London tomorrow, being held in partnership with design leaders IDEO and sugru and hosted by Ravensbourne.! ! Over 100 designers, manufacturers, hackers, and assistive product users from the Enabled by Design community attending this two day ideas and product prototyping-fest will be among the first to receive the full details of how to enter the TSB competition. ! ! In this two day event (Friday 2 – Saturday 3 November 2012 at Ravensbourne), teams will design and build prototypes that demonstrate how products can rapidly be designed and built with people for people, personalising products to better fit with people’s lives and their needs. A movement for accessibility for the masses, the event will continue Enabled by Design’s work to mainstream products that work for as many people as possible, including those with disabilities and older people.! ! TSB expect to make grants of between £50k to £750k for projects that help overcome some of the factors that have prevented a rapid expansion of this game-changing technology. They cite these barriers as: high cost, inconsistent material properties, lack of applicable industry standards, unexpected pre-and post-processing requirements and the failure to exploit the new design freedoms offered.! ! Robin Wilson - Lead Technologist, Technology Strategy Board, says: “We’re particularly keen to attract new entrants from the design and “maker” communities who wouldn’t normally look at manufacturing competitions and we know many of these people will be attending the Enabled by Design-athon.! ! “Enabling these individuals and small companies to partner up or subcontract with some of the ! 1!
- 2. more established design, manufacturing and 3D printing companies is one of the challenges we are hoping to overcome.” ! ! Denise Stephens, Founder, Enabled by Design, says: “We’re extremely proud and excited that the Technology Strategy Board has chosen the Enabled by Design-athon to launch its competition briefing document. I know there are a lot of people who are eagerly awaiting these details and people coming to our event will be the first to have the opportunity to gain further insights into the competition.! ! “We’re passionate about Design for All and feel that 3D printing technology will take accessible design to the next level through customisation of new and existing products, better supporting individuals’ needs. So a competition supporting the uptake of additive manufacturing in new areas is something we’re keen to see.”! ! ENDS! ! Notes to Editors! ! 1) The Enabled by Design-athon is a two-day event, being held at Ravensbourne, a higher education institution innovating in digital media and design, in Greenwich Peninsula, London, on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 November 2012.! ! 2) At the event, teams will design and build prototypes that demonstrate how products can rapidly be designed and built with people for people, personalising products to better fit with people’s lives and their needs. The team are creating a movement for accessibility for the masses so that mainstream products work for as many people as possible, including those with disabilities and older people. The event will challenge people’s preconceptions of assistive technology, showing how products can be personalised, purposeful and beautifully designed too.! ! 3) Speakers at the event will include Tom Hulme, Design Director IDEO and Founder OpenIDEO, and James Carrigan, Co-Founder sugru and Fixperts, among others. The full agenda can be seen here: http://enabledbydesign.org/2012/10/enabled-by-design-athon- whats-on-the-agenda/! ! 4) For more information about the event and find out how to get involved:! Website: http://enabledbydesign.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enabledbydesign Twitter: @enabledby Email: lucy@wearefuturegov.com ! 5) Details of the £7m Technology Strategy Board CR&D (Collaborative Research and Development) competition “Inspiring New Design Freedoms in Additive Manufacturing / 3D printing” are now up on the Technology Strategy Board competition website. It opens for ! 2!
- 3. registration on 3 December 2012 and the briefing / consortium building event is on 11 December 2012 in London. http://www.innovateuk.org/content/competition/inspiring-new- design-freedoms-in-additive-manufact.ashx! ! 6) Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of building an item from a digital model made through computer aided design (CAD) software using a materials printer. The item is made by the printer adding layers of materials together to create the desired form, rather than removing chunks of the material, as is usually the case in traditional manufacturing. The process allows people to produce items on relatively affordable equipment and could even be used to create bespoke products in the home.! ! 7) Enabled by Design http://enabledbydesign.org Enabled by Design is a social business and community of people passionate about design for all. They believe that good design can support people to live as independently as possible, by helping to make day-to-day tasks that little bit easier.! ! 8) Technology Strategy Board (TSB) http://www.innovateuk.org The Technology Strategy Board is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy.! ! 9) Partner organisations supporting the Enabled by Design-athon, in addition to TSB, are: ! • IDEO http://www.ideo.com/uk IDEO is an award-winning global design firm that takes a human-centred, design-based approach to helping organisations in the public and private sectors innovate and grow. We identify new ways to serve and support people by uncovering latent needs, behaviours, and desires. We envision new companies and brands, and we design the products, services, spaces, and interactive experiences that bring them to life. We also help organisations build the creative culture and the internal systems required to sustain innovation and launch new ventures. • Ravensbourne http://www.rave.ac.uk Ravensbourne is a university sector college innovating in digital media and design, with a vocationally focused portfolio of courses. • sugru www.sugru.com sugru is the exciting new air-curing rubber that can be formed by hand. Developed by a team of product designers and materials scientists, sugru’s patented technology is unique in its combination of hand-formability, self-adhesion and flexibility when cured. • FutureGov http://wearefuturegov.com FutureGov are digital innovators, drawing on their design, technology and change skills to help identify social challenges and work with users to define and deliver solutions. 10) A range of hi-res logos and images are available on request. Press are welcome to attend the event - those wishing to do so, please register your interest with denise@enabledbydesign.org to ensure entry.! ! 3!